


Can I stay?

by Sorran



Category: The Last Kingdom (TV)
Genre: Aethelstan needs a father, Finan and Sihtric are Dads, Gen, TLKFFF2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:00:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25525558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sorran/pseuds/Sorran
Summary: Finan reacts without conscious thought, grabs his attacker's wrist to pull them in and crush them against his chest while his other hand presses the knife he usually hides between the straw mattress and the bed frame to the attacker's throat.
Relationships: Finan & Aethelstan, Finan & Sihtric (The Last Kingdom)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 27





	Can I stay?

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't think I'd manage to complete anything in time for the second round of the [Last Kingdom Fanfic Fest](http://tlkfanficfest.tumblr.com), but apparently my muse is on fire, and here we are. 
> 
> \- Actually, although this is inspired by the prompt "Finan/Osferth, Osferth is stabbed by Finan while trying to wake him up from a nightmare", it's really a combination of ideas that went off in a completely different direction. 
> 
> So it's not a fill for that prompt, and I still didn't complete anything in time for round two of TLKFFF2020. Dammit.

A hand on Finan's arm startles him awake. He reacts without conscious thought, grabs his attacker's wrist to pull them in and crush them against his chest while his other hand presses the knife he usually hides between the straw mattress and the bed frame to the attacker's throat. 

Only the unexpectedly high-pitched yelp this elicits stops Finan from pressing his knife down any further. He blinks and freezes when he realises he is holding a small child against his chest, before letting the little intruder go with a shudder.

The child scrambles back, and the open hearth of the small house in Coccham gives off just enough light for Finan to make out Aethelstan's wide-eyed features.

"Christ, ya gave me a fright, boy", Finan swears as he drops the knife and lets himself go slack with relief, heart still hammering in his chest. "I could've killed ya." 

The boy shrinks in on himself. "I'm sorry", he mumbles.

Finan scrubs his hands over his face. "What are ya doing here?" he breathes out, telling his heart to calm down while trying to make sense of the situation.

"I couldn't sleep." Aethelstan looks at him hopefully. 

Finan feels his eyebrows creep up. "And ya came all the way here from the nunnery ta tell me this?" he whispers. "Why didn't ya wake Eadith?"

"I didn't want to scare her", Aethelstan says earnestly.

This forces a laugh out of Finan. "Believe you me, boy, Eadith doesn't scare that easily", he chuckles quietly, shaking his head. "Come on, I'll take ya back ta yer bed, hm?" He levers himself up on his elbow, but Aethelstan's whisper stops him short. 

"Can I stay here?" the boy pleads.

Finan turns to look over his shoulder at the other form on the bed. 

As if feeling Finan's eyes on him, Sihtric mutters sleepily: "Just let him get in, and go back to sleep." 

Although the other man hasn't moved throughout any of this, Finan isn't surprised that he's awake. 

He turns back to Aethelstan. "Alright then, ya heard the man", he decides, patting the furs next to him. "In ya get."

Aethelstan's face lights up in a smile as he eagerly clambers into the bed. After some rearranging of furs and limbs, the boy settles curled snugly against Finan's side, where his breath evens out in moments. 

"You know, I came here to get away from children in my bed", Sihtric murmurs, turning over to face Finan and the boy in a rustle of furs. Finan can just make out the glint of Sihtric's eyes and teeth in the sparse light from the hearth.

Careful not to jostle Aethelstan, Finan angles his foot out of his own pile of furs to deliver a kick to where he thinks Sihtric's shins are. 

"Bugger off back ta yer own bed then", he whispers.

"Nah", Sihtric yawns. "Still less children in this bed." His furs rustle some more as he gets himself resituated, then everything is quiet again. 

Finan is already slipping under when Sihtric speaks up once more. 

" 'gratulations", the younger man mumbles, on the brink of sleep himself. "You jus' got adopted." 

Finan smiles into the darkness.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, my little person slept in my bed last night, why do you ask?


End file.
